3 hours ago
1
English cricket completed arguably its greatest transformation in living memory on Wednesday after Southern Brave became the eighth and final franchise to be bought in the landmark Hundred sale.
As expected, Hampshire’s owners GMR Group – co-owners of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League – have secured the 49% stake that was on offer from the England and Wales Cricket Board. It means the county, previously gifted 51% by the ECB, will take full control of Southern Brave once the final details are ironed out.
The deal has reportedly seen GMR Group pay £48million for the ECB’s stake in Southern Brave, placing the team’s overall valuation at £98m. After a 49% share of Trent Rockets was secured by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s Cain International on Tuesday for for a tick under £40m, the overall valuation of the eight teams is likely to be approaching a combined £1billion.
The Hundred: who has bought what
ShowOval Invincibles
Valuation £123m. Host club Surrey. Investor Reliance Industries, owners of Mumbai Indians, bought 49% for £60m.
Birmingham Phoenix
Valuation £81m. Host club Warwickshire. Investor Knighthead Capital, owners of Birmingham City FC, bought 49% for £40m.
London Spirit
Valuation £295m. Host club MCC. Investor Cricket Investor Holdings Limited, a Silicon Valley consortium, bought 49% for £144m.
Welsh Fire
Valuation £81m. Host club Glamorgan. Investor IT entrepreneur Sanjay Govil, owner of Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket, bought 49% for £40m.
Manchester Originals
Valuation £116m. Host club Lancashire. Investor RPSG Group, owners of Lucknow Super Giants, bought 70% for £81m.
Northern Superchargers
Valuation £100m. Host club Yorkshire. Investor Sun Group, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, bought 100%.
Trent Rockets
Valuation £80m. Host club Nottinghamshire. Investor Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly’s Cain International bought 49% for £39m.
Southern Brave
Valuation £98m. Host club Hampshire. Investor GMR Group, Hampshire majority shareholders and co-owners of Delhi Capitals, bought the ECB's 49% stake for £48m.
Hampshire’s status as a privately-owned county made the Southern Brave deal unique among the eight teams being sold off. It also means four of the eight Hundred franchises now have investment from IPL teams following deals for Northern Superchargers (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Manchester Originals (Lucknow Super Giants) and Oval Invincibles (Mumbai Indians).
after newsletter promotion
Richard Thompson, the ECB chair, previously stated he did not want the Hundred sale to become “an IPL takeover” and should be satisfied with the outcome after Birmingham Phoenix (Knighthead Capital), Welsh Fire (Tech entrepreneur Sanjay Govil), London Spirit (Silicon Valley consortium) and Trent Rockets (Cain) all attracted investment from elsewhere.
